After viewing this show I rated it 7/10 and while I usually doubt naysayers who compare a three show to books, I have to agree with them here. When reading the incredible source material, the passably good show becomes awful. It was predictable, some of the characters were cliche and dull, and the ending was uninteresting, but overall I still found it to somehow be fun. Between a few decent actors and all the drama, as predictable as it was, the show itself was believable and there were a few, emphasis on few, enthralling moments.
But then I felt the need to pick up the books. Every single interesting second in this show is taken out of the book and made worse. The dialogue in the books is always funny, quick witted and interesting, whereas the show did not have a single such moment. The parts of the show that were added were all so strange yet boring that they actually detracted from the experience. The characters are so much more complex, with many more problems that are specific to them, directly affecting their personalities, yet the show rarely shows any of these problems, instead focusing on their own added "modern" problems that add nothing to the stories, instead sucking all the personality from the characters, giving them little to like. The show is still fine, with the gossip lovers and the pretty good acting from several, and the costumes that match the character descriptions alright.
I do note that this show had to cram 8 romantic novels, with different stories taking place over the course of many years or at different times, all into one show with one timeline. I can see how they tried to make things fit and it somewhat worked. The show itself may not be very good, but the fact that it is passable is an accomplishment; perhaps not a great one but an accomplishment nonetheless.
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